


Shattered Swords

by orangebarmy



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003)
Genre: Gen, Ratings: G, Swords, Warrior - Freeform, Weapons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-16 01:56:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3470111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orangebarmy/pseuds/orangebarmy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT (sadly)<br/>Summary: A warriors weapons are precious to him.<br/>Rating: G<br/>Note: For the TMNT contests "Loss" (takes place during 2003 TMNT Season 1 Episode 17)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shattered Swords

Shredder stood before his elite ninja waiting for them to produce the blades in question. Kneeling down before their master they held up the twin blades for him. Taking them the Shredder held them above his head before using his unnatural strength to shatter the priceless blades apart. 

In the apartment opposite him an uneasy cry issued forth and it filled the Shredder with joy. He knew a warrior’s attachment to his weapon; he knew the bond which was formed between flesh and metal; one which Leonardo so obviously had shared with his blades.

Leo shifted in agony, his heart weighing heavily in his chest. His precious blades were no more he felt the moment in which they had been shattered. They were more than just weapons to him, they were part of him. His swords loss was like having a limb amputated. 

Like his own true limbs he knew everything there was to know about his weapons. He knew the intimate details of their creation, the long and arduous process to bring his beautiful weapons to complete fruition.

It had started with iron sand mixed with charcoal in a tatara for seventy-two gruelling hours where it was watched and added to constantly. In the end it had formed into tamahagane steel and broken free from the tatara.

Carefully the lump of misshapen steel had been appraised and the brightest silver pieces had been chosen to make the precious blades. They were sent to the sword smith who patiently awaited them along with his two apprentices.

The sword smith carefully examined the presented steel to make sure he had been supplied with the choicest sections. The furnace and charcoal was heated in preparation for the task ahead. Carefully the pieces of tamahagane were heated and hammered into the building blocks needed for the blades.

Next the pieces were layered and covered with paper, clay and ash. The steel had been reheated before being hammered once more. The hammering helping to drive the impurities from the steel until it was a single welded block. 

The steel was folded to uniform the carbon content. Folded and hammered sixteen times it slowly took the rough form of its final perfect shape. To keep the blades flexible yet hard another steel was added to the edge blending the iron and steel of differing carbon content to make it a deadly combination of pearlite and martensite. 

Next the hamon was carefully drawn on to each blade, this tempering line made from a mixture of clay and charcoal powder was layered thickly onto the back of the blade yet thinly onto the edge. It served to protect the back of the blade from hardening too quickly, while this line also gave the sword a unique character highlighting the joining of the metals which had been used in the forging.

Thrust back into the furnace the blades were heated to 800° C judged by the red colour of the metal. Quickly taken from the furnace the blades were plunged into cool water, the lightly coated edge of the blades cooling quicker and trapping the carbon within the steel while the main body cooled slowly keeping its more ductile qualities.

Rough polishing served to bring the edge to its razor sharpness, helping the sword smith to see if the blades had any defects. Now with his job done the blades were pasted onto the master polisher.

Each blade unique in its composition required different stones to polish it to its true perfection. Days of careful examination and polishing slowly brought out the beauty and line of the mixed metals. Never once during this polishing process was the hilt of the blades touched, leaving it unpolished.

The blades sharpened and polished to perfection was handed over to the tsukamaki-shi who made the tsuka (hilt) and saya (scabbard) for the blades. Each piece carefully carved of wood and shaped to the unique size and shape of the individual blade.

The tsuka was wrapped in shark skin and then the ito made of silk was intricately braided around it, all the while paper triangles were placed beneath it to help form the shape of the hilt. With the final knots tied and collars and pommels firmly seated in place the swords themselves were complete.

Finishing touches to the saya to make it suitable for use upon the battlefield and finally after long months of gruelling intricate work, the katana's were ready to be placed in the hands of their warrior. 

Leo knew each second of this process; he had studied it spent weeks pouring through information learning every aspect of his weapons. He took the precious time to carefully clean and oil his weapons; he made sure to store them in the correct position.

He studied hard during their training so as to know the correct way to wield his weapon, making sure to defend using the back of the blade while using the edge with deadly precision knowing that if he chose he could cut a man from throat to groin with a well-placed slice.

He never went anywhere without them. They were by his bedside at night, despite being ninja placed as a Samurai would at the head of his bed ready to be drawn at a moment’s notice. Even when he used the bathroom, his swords would be gently placed to the side but within easy reach if he needed them.

The blades were precious to him, more precious than he could express. Forged in the furnaces of Japan in the age old methods of the smelters, sword smiths, polishers and tsukamaki-shi they were irreplaceable in Leo’s eyes.

Feeling as the blades shatter apart was almost too much for him to bear. It was more than just his heart that had broken but it was almost as if that act of desecration had struck his soul, tearing it asunder and leaving him broken nearly beyond repair.

The last of the fight went out of him, everything he had worked for destroyed in a second. He had failed himself, he had failed his family and he had failed to protect his swords. 

They were gone and it was a thought Leo couldn’t bear.


End file.
